Murphy Holloway has been granted his release from Ole Miss, but as expected, he will not be allowed to transfer to South Carolina or Clemson.

Holloway, reached late Thursday afternoon, said Ole Miss released him to transfer to Wofford, Presbyterian, Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, College of Charleston and Charleston Southern, but not either of the state's two biggest programs. Coastal contacted Holloway on Thursday but thus far, he has not received any word from any other schools.

Not that it matters at this point. Holloway plans to appeal the decision to Ole Miss, see where he is and proceed from there.

"I just want to talk with everybody, take some official visits and get to know the coaching staff," Holloway said. "I want to give everybody a fair chance."

Holloway, an Irmo native who won the state's Mr. Basketball award at Dutch Fork High School, requested his release last week because he wanted to be closer to home with his family and infant daughter. The 6-foot-7 forward, one of the highest-rated recruits in Ole Miss' history, started 30 of 34 games last year and averaged 10.1 points with 7.6 rebounds.

Holloway was also active defensively, with 86 steals and 33 blocks in two seasons. Should he transfer to a lower-division school, he could begin his two years of eligibility right away; if he wants to go to a Division I school, he will have to sit out a year and then have two years of eligibility.

"That's all in the future, though," Holloway said. "They sent me an e-mail saying I can appeal on a teleconference or I can show up there. I'll do one of those."

Even with USC and Clemson blocked on the transfer list, Holloway could still choose to play for one of those two schools. Neither program's coaching staff is allowed to contact Holloway but if Holloway were to enroll in school and pay his own way -- an athletic scholarship would not be allowed -- he could join the team as a walk-on.

While the process of an appeal may take a week or two, USC could have an interesting situation should Holloway narrow his choice to the Gamecocks. USC is full on scholarships for next year with its six-man recruiting class, so Holloway would not have a scholarship even if he was released. Austin Steed, who will not play next year, remains on scholarship and will graduate in December, but his scholarship runs through the spring and cannot be handed out after graduation.

As for a year from now, USC will have two open scholarships following the departure of rising seniors Sam Muldrow and Johndre Jefferson. One scholarship is already taken up by 6-8 forward Anthony Gill.

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